Help Rebuilding Credit

[Anonymous]

First post here, so hello!

Anyway, I'm trying to rebuild my credit in order to purchase a home, and just be better off credit wise. I tried to pull my FICO scores, but it told me I didn't have enough history to pull them. So I will post everything that I do have. According to Credit Karma, my TU score is 576, and my EQ score is 535. There are some differences in those reports, which I will get to later. Basically, I'm wondering just how bad of shape I'm in, and what is the best steps for me to take. I would like to be able to secure a loan to buy.build a house within the next year and a half.

Experian

Collections:

Jefferson Capital Systems $1621 DOFD of 01/01/2014. I saw where some people had had luck in filing a claim with the BBB, so I did that yesterday, and am waiting to hear back.

Medical Data Services $815 DOFD of 11/03/2014. I'm pretty sure from everything I've read online, they won't do a PFD. I do have funds available to pay the $815 in full. My question this, should I get in contact with the hospital and have them try and pull it back from collections, and pay them directly, or just pay the collection agency?

Installment Loans:

Ally Financial which is closed and current.

Revolving Accounts:

Capital One which is closed and current. Marked as Paid, but was past due 60 days.

Credit One Bank which is a closed charge off. CL was $300, charge off amount $584.

Marks & Morgan which is a closed charge off. CL was $4,682. This is my oldest account. This was bought by a CA, but I paid in full with the CA. Should this still be being reported? The CA deleted the collection off my report years ago when it was paid.

Equifax

Collections:

Jefferson Capital Systems $1621 DOFD of 01/01/2014. I saw where some people had had luck in filing a claim with the BBB, so I did that yesterday, and am waiting to hear back.

Medical Data Services $815 DOFD of 11/03/2014. I'm pretty sure from everything I've read online, they won't do a PFD. I do have funds available to pay the $815 in full. My question this, should I get in contact with the hospital and have them try and pull it back from collections, and pay them directly, or just pay the collection agency?

Holloway Credit Solutions $74 DOFD of 10/02/2013. Dr's office that has been paid. I disputed it and it came off my TU and my EX. Dr has also passed away.

Holloway Credit Solutions $77 DOFD of 06/19/2012. Same as above.

Installment Loans:

Ally Financial which is closed and current.

Revolving Accounts:

Capital One which is closed and current. Marked as Paid, but was past due 60 days.

Credit One Bank which is a closed charge off. CL was $300, charge off amount $584.

Marks & Morgan which is a closed charge off. CL was $4,682. This is my oldest account. This was bought by a CA, but I paid in full with the CA. Should this still be being reported? The CA deleted the collection off my report years ago when it was paid.

Transunion

Collections:

Jefferson Capital Systems $1621 DOFD of 01/01/2014. I saw where some people had had luck in filing a claim with the BBB, so I did that yesterday, and am waiting to hear back.

Medical Data Services $815 DOFD of 11/03/2014. I'm pretty sure from everything I've read online, they won't do a PFD. I do have funds available to pay the $815 in full. My question this, should I get in contact with the hospital and have them try and pull it back from collections, and pay them directly, or just pay the collection agency?

Installment Loans:

Ally Financial which is closed and current.

Revolving Accounts:

Capital One which is closed and current. Marked as Paid, but was past due 60 days.

Credit One Bank which is a closed charge off. CL was $300, charge off amount $584.

Marks & Morgan which is a closed charge off. CL was $4,682. This is my oldest account. This was bought by a CA, but I paid in full with the CA. Should this still be being reported? The CA deleted the collection off my report years ago when it was paid.

Basically, I have 2 really big negatives with the collections. I just applied for a Discover IT Secured card and got approved today. I sent over my $200 deposit and it said I should receive the card in about 2 weeks. I have had help from family in order to purchase a vehicle. So, I literally have zero credit that's open at the current moment until that Discover card shows up. My annual salary is around $85,000 a year. I know it isn't an overnight process, but it just all seems so overwhelming. I would just like some input on what I can expect given the shape of my credit situation. Thanks in advance!

[Anonymous]

Just wanted to add that I applied today for another Capital One Secured card and got approved. So, that will give me the Discover Secured and Capital One secured in a month or so. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Just wanted to add that I applied today for another Capital One Secured card and got approved. So, that will give me the Discover Secured and Capital One secured in a month or so. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

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Give it 90 days to simmer and apply for a regular Cap One Platinum card.

Edit: I forgot Cap One has a six month waiting period for opening a new account. So let it simmer for 180 days.

[Anonymous]

See my signature link for some ideas.

Alliant SSL asap would be super wise! And a third CC maybe another Capital Ome 6 months after the first one’s opening date

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
See my signature link for some ideas.

Alliant SSL asap would be super wise! And a third CC maybe another Capital Ome 6 months after the first one’s opening date

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Oh, thats right- I forgot about their six months between cards limit!

[Anonymous]

Thanks to both of you. I will be setting up for the Alliant SSL today! Just curious, but I still have the one medical collection for $815. Should I try to deal with the hospital directly and see if they can pull it back and have it deleted, or just call the collection agency and pay it in full. I don’t think they will do a PFD. It’s through Medical Data Services. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Medical debts are complicated because there are many routes to take.

The first one is to find out if it was covered by insurance and just not paid.  The next is to see if you may qualify for "charity care" and if so, the hospital would recall the debt.  After that, you should contact the hospital's internal billing department repeatedly and talk to various people about recalling the debt. 

I don't have any personal history with medical collections so I can't suggest the best tactic, but I personally wouldn't pay a collection agency who refuses to write a pay-for-deletion letter to me before paying.

[Anonymous]

I’m pretty sure it’s somethint my insurance wouldn’t cover. My insurance used to be terrible until recently when I got married. My wife works for the State so we have great insurance now. With my income, I doubt I’ll qualify for charity care also. So, I’ll give the hospital a call and see what they say. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I believe charity care should have been based on your income when you were treated, not income now -- but again I'm not sure.  Never hurts to call and inquire, and if they say no, hang up and call someone else there and inquire!

[Anonymous]

So, good news; The Jefferson Capital collection for $1600+ was removed from my credit reports. I checked credit karma and other reports, and it was gone. However, my FAKO scores remained the same and didn’t change. Is this normal? Keep in mind that I still have a medical collection showing.

Also, I called the hospital that was owed the original debt for the medical, but they said it’s too far gone to pull back. Medical Data Systems was pretty adamant about not doing a pfd. I guess I will just keep trying.